(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to systems for sorting or unscrambling boards and to methods of operating the same.
(b) Related Prior Art
Lumber manufacturing nowadays has become increasingly competitive to a point where its operations must be automated as much as possible for economic viability of the manufacturing process.
In automating various lumber processing machinery, it is often necessary to receive an agglomerated supply of scrambled elongated boards, having longer dimensions extending somewhat in the same general direction, and turn the longitudinal boards to a uniform parallel attitude while singulating them, individually, or in small groups, in adjacency or at discrete intervals for delivery to other devices, machines, machineries or components for further processing. Machines accomplishing this function are commonly known in the lumber industry as board unscramblers, board sorters, unscrambling devices or unscramblers.
There exists on the market a plurality of apparatuses for unscrambling boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,906, to Franz et al., describes a S-shaped board unscrambler for lumber processing. The efficiency of such an apparatus is not optimal.
According to another example, and referring now to PRIOR ART FIG. 1, there is shown a V-shaped board unscrambler for lumber processing. The efficiency of such an apparatus is not optimal.
There is therefore a need for improved board unscramblers for sorting a plurality of boards that overcome the prior art drawbacks and that allows for improved efficiency of the sorting process of the boards.